G.890

A Cornell/Geneva semi-vigorous rootstock producing a tree about MM.106 or M.7 size but markedly more yield-efficient, with the highest cumulative yields of any stock by a wide margin when NC-140 pooled thirteen locations. Its triple disease resistance plus deep anchorage make it the strongest choice in this set for an unsupported, wider-spaced maritime PNW cider orchard, and it performs notably well in harsh replant ground. It is the clear substitute for EMLA 106 anywhere drainage is marginal, and the right pairing for the fireblight-sensitive Amere de Berthcourt. Discrepancies: Two conflicts. Vigor is reported as 50-60% of seedling (Roots to Fruits), 60-70% (NMSU Extension), and as similar to EMLA 106 or M.7 (Cornell, Adams County); NC-140 trial data puts it 67-89% larger than M.26 EMLA. Recommended 55-65% as the range consistent with the trial data and the MM.106/M.7 size anchor, rather than either single nursery figure. Precocity is the sharper conflict: WSU's rootstock page calls G.890 intermediate precocity, while Cornell/Geneva and NC-140 report it as more precocious than M.7 with the highest cumulative yields in multi-site trials. Recommended early, following Cornell as the breeding program of record per the stated preference order — but note that WSU's more conservative reading is the local one, so expect good rather than spectacular early cropping here. Disease resistance is uncontested across all sources.

Disease: Resistant to fireblight (Erwinia amylovora), Phytophthora crown rot, AND woolly apple aphid — the only stock in this set resistant to all three. Also tolerant of replant disease and rated winter hardy by WSU.